1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a self-attaching strap and in particular to a device and method for securing an intravenous infusion needle and tubing on a patient during an intravenous infusion and for protecting an intervention site.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a variety of medical treatment situations, it is often desirable and at times imperative to initiate an intravenous (or "IV") infusion of medications, blood, electrolytes, and similar fluids. It is often of critical importance to accomplish the task of inserting an intravenous needle or catheter into a patient's vein as quickly as possible to expeditiously administer such fluids. For this reason, peripheral veins of the hands, arms, feet and legs are often employed.
A skilled clinician can normally initiate an intravenous infusion rapidly and without assistance, but the insertion site of the intravenous catheter must be secured to prevent accidental removal. This can be an awkward, time-consuming, frustrating procedure for the nurse, physician, or paramedic who initiated the intravenous treatment and must then see to it that the needle or catheter and any excess tubing are secured. In conventional practice, strips of adhesive tape can be applied to the intravenous catheter hub and the excess tubing to secure these respective parts to the patient's skin. If only one member of the medical team has the duty of initiating the intravenous treatment, he or she can tear such strips of tape before starting the procedure, attempt to hold the intravenous equipment in place while tearing the tape, or ask for assistance.
The aforementioned procedure is even more difficult with gloves on, and many health care professionals routinely wear protective gloves when contact with body fluids is likely. Contact with a patient's body fluids is not unlikely when an intravenous treatment is administered. Adhesive tape can stick to the gloves, making application to the patents' skin difficult. The tape can also tear gloves. If gloves are used to insert a needle or a catheter and then removed prior to a taping procedure, very often a powder from the gloves is left on a clinician's hands which interferes with the adhesive properties of the tape.
Conditions of patients' skin such as excessive hair, hypothermia, increased fragility and the like can interfere with tape adhesion. Furthermore, excessive hair and fragile skin can make removal of tape painful to patients.
In response to such conditions of their patients' skin, it has been a practice of some health care professionals to avoid tape by using strips of gauze for wrapping patients' limbs and thus securing intravenous equipment. This procedure can also be cumbersome to employ and can interfere with inspection of insertion sites for dislodgment or infiltration difficulties.
There are known in the prior art several devices for securing intravenous catheters and tubing to patients. While some prior art securing devices were proposed to alleviate certain of the aforementioned problems, for one reason or another they have generally proven to be unsatisfactory.
In general, these prior art devices appear complicated to use and uncomfortable to the patient. Many involve combinations of fasteners, tube mounting members, bands, or large adhesive areas which could cause application delays, and removing them could be painful or at least difficult. The complicated constructions of some prior art devices tend to make them difficult to manufacture and therefore unduly expensive.
The appearances of some prior art devices are so unsightly and aesthetically undesirable that they may produce emotional distress in sensitive patients. The complicated and sometimes fragmented designs of some prior art devices could render them unrealistic in actual practice, especially in emergency situations, and perhaps explains why tape and dressing techniques are still commonly employed methods for securing intravenous needles or catheters and tubing.